Princess Margaret (1930-2002) part 2: May 2007-

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Originally Posted by LASSE15

Please,look my collection of Margaret`s photos at Images of Queen Elisabeth and Princess Margaret

Please DO NOT claim other people's work as your own - and you wonder why some of us don't even bother anymore !!!


* How very droll *

[Elspeth]

Originally Posted by PssMarie-Elisabeth

Please DO NOT claim other people's work as your own - and you wonder why some of us don't even bother anymore !!!


* How very droll *

I don't think Lassie was claiming the work as his own, just posting a link to a collection of photos he owns, which is OK as far as the forum rules are concerned.

[Menarue]

Thank you Lassie 15, those photographs are wonderful. What beautiful young women the Queen and Princess Margaret were. I remember seeing the Queen on a few occasions in Australia and what amazed me more than anything else was her beautiful colouring and complexion. Somewhere about that time my husband was a member of her guard of honour when she made a visit to Portugal and he often speaks, even now, of how beautiful she looked.

[gbmonster]

Hi all,

As I know there are countless collectors among you... I thought I'd draw your attention to this item I stumbled across on ebay that I thought might be of interest.

It's a commemorative magazine for Princess Margaret's wedding.
"The Royal Wedding In Pictures".

Looks like a bargain... but what do I know!


Enjoy.

GB.

[Menarue]

Good find GBM. .

[Carminha Stalker]

Princess Margaret was indeed a very beautiful woman. It´s a great shame that she wasn´t allowed to marry her great love, Captain Townsend. I think her life would have been very different.
But, anyway, she did manage to enjoy herself and bring up two lovely children.
May she rest in peace.

[Pixilated]

Margaret was so pretty, she reminds me of the model Bianca Balti. A shame she did not a very happy life in terms of husbandry.

[LASSE15]

Originally Posted by pssmarie-elisabeth

please do not claim other people's work as your own - and you wonder why some of us don't even bother anymore !!!


* how very droll *

this collection is my property!!!!!

[iowabelle]

My PBS channel is running a show tonight called Princess Margaret - A Love Story, at 7:00 p.m. Central if you're in the United States.

It looks to be fictionalized, the ads show an actress rather than the Princess, and probably focuses on the Townsend problem.

[Menarue]

Originally Posted by LASSE15

this collection is my property!!!!!

And a marvellous collection it is too. What beautiful young women these sisters were.
Thanks again for showing it to us.

[iowabelle]

Bella, I think you're romanticizing the young princesses... although I don't think HM was ever a party girl, Margaret got into a lot of trouble in the 1950s. It's just been so long we've forgotten.

[Menarue]

I remember well the trouble that Princess Margaret got into but it is much different to what would be calleded trouble these days. Her friendship with a young American girl was criticized especially when they were seen dancing the "can can" on a table at a night club.....really how scandalous does that seem nowadays? I forgot she smoked.......dreadful!
Then she fell in love with a divorced man.........the innocent party to boot.
Beautiful Princess Margaret. A King´s daughter, a Queen´s sister, talented, everyone spoke of how well she played the piano, sang and could mimic anyone she met. She could wear the family jewels so beautifully and and was so photogenic, her colouring was perfect and when she had to represent the family it was in an impeccable way.
She was so talented but in a position that she couldn´t use those talents to her advantage.
Later on she was described as difficult. No wonder.

[Russophile]

I always liked her. Difficult, yes, but oh! What a woman!

[iowabelle]

The American girl led her into rather more interesting things than merely dancing the can-can. Just think Lindsey Lohan in the 1950s.

So I watched the TV show last night and it was very interesting (with very few dramatic re-enactments). The things I didn't know: Margaret blamed Tommy Lascelles for wrecking her romance (it turned out he was encouraging Margaret but running back to the Queen and PM saying the relationship was doomed); the government decided prior to Margaret's renunciation to back down and let her marry Townsend (she only had to give up her place in the line of succession-- they were willing to let her keep the HRH and even willing to dramatically increase her amount in the Civil List); Margaret might have gotten tired of Townsend and been willing to end the affair on her own after their 2-year separation; Margaret said that she had had no understanding of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 (and didn't understand she didn't need HM's consent after age 25); and the thing that seemed to end the matter entirely was a weekend with the Queen and the DoE...

[Menarue]

Yes, I was being delicate about what the American girl taught her.....
Is it true that the Princess Margaret would not have had to give up her HRH and income?
I always thought that that was the main reason she decided to give Townsend up, and also it was said at the time she would have had to leave the country, becoming another exile like her Uncle David.

[Princess Margaret]

Originally Posted by Menarue

Yes, I was being delicate about what the American girl taught her.....

American girl was Sharman Douglas, the daughter of Lewis W. Douglas, the US Ambassador to Britain from 25th March 1947 to 16th November 1950. I'm told that she was glamorous and gracious, and a great hit with London society. She and Margaret are said to have danced a can-can at her father's ambassadorial residence. Other said that they had a brief affair. She died of bone cancer at NY hospital in 1996.

[Princess Margaret]

http://www.life.com/image/3426462

[Menarue]

I am sorry to hear about that, poor woman.
At the time when Princess Margaret was partying with her I thought it was a shame that they were so criticized for what seemed such a minor offence such as doing the cancan.
I heard the other rumours much later and I find it hard to believe, in those days best friends were always together and it was all perfectly innocent.

[Roslyn]

Originally Posted by Menarue

Is it true that the Princess Margaret would not have had to give up her HRH and income?
I always thought that that was the main reason she decided to give Townsend up, and also it was said at the time she would have had to leave the country, becoming another exile like her Uncle David.

As I understand the position from the documentary I saw, the government had a plan to enable her to marry Townsend and she would only have had to give up her place in the succession, but this was worked out late in the piece and I don't think she was ever told about it. I think everyone concerned (which I have assumed included the Queen) decided to keep it to themselves when they saw that Margaret was likely to decide against marrying Townsend. But if she had known she could keep her position and the income, what decision would Margaret have made? And if she did find out later, did she feel betrayed? If she did feel betrayed, what effect did that have on her decisions? I'd like to know the answers, but never will of course.

[iowabelle]

Yes, the show said that before Margaret was told that the government would agree to let her keep the HRH and increase her Civil List amount, she decided to give up Townsend (and I think Lady Anne Glenconner, one of her closest friends, said she was still in love with Townsend and that she even still had feelings for him in the 1990s so it was unlikely she had fallen out of love with him at the time she renounced him).

I think it's likely that the Queen and DoE talked her into breaking it off, but she didn't ever seem to resent the Queen -- and I think Margaret was too expressive to have hidden her resentment.

I wonder if the Townsend match could have been successful if it had been allowed.